The Pursuer
by hylianmusicianandwriter
Summary: Rick and Morty blow up the house, broh. They go on a small adventure to try and fix it, but end up running into an old enemy.
1. Part 1

**A/N:** **This is going to be a short story. Only two parts long or so. I felt it was too long to make it a one-shot, but too short to make it a full story. This started off as a small scene like I normally do, but somehow evolved into a couple scenes. I hope you enjoy! Reviews make my heart happy. :)** **wubba lubba dub dub!**

PART 1

Today was Saturday. Jerry and Beth were out for an all-day trip to who-knows-where, Summer was at the mall shopping with her friends, and Rick and Morty had just accidentally blown up the house.

The two were standing out on the sidewalk, nothing but a smoking pile of ruins before them.

Rick swept the rubble with his eyes, a light smile playing on his lips, his hands on his waist. "I dunno about you, M-EUGH-orty, but I like chaotic messes like, like this. It wakes up the brain cells." He tapped his forehead before turning to smile at his grandson.

"Rick!" Morty shrieked. "L-l-l-look what you've done! You've destroyed the entire house! Oh, jeez. Rick! My- m-m-m-my parents are gonna kill me!"

"Morty, calm down, Morty! Calm down!" Rick said, taking ahold of his grandson's arm. "Listen, I can fix this, but we need to go to a planet called 'Plobino' in the Nebullon System to get a special crystal. You know what crystal that is, Morty?"

Morty shook his head fervently.

"It's a Tipythion crystal, Morty. I need it for my new invention." Rick pulled out a cylindrical machine that had a quarter-sized hole in it. He pointed to the hole. "This baby-this thing will undo all the damage you did, Morty. It will put the house right back in order, before your parents get home."

"Damage _I_ did?! Rick, this was your fault! Y-y-you gotta take some blame here!" Morty pointed an accusatory finger at his grandfather.

Rick rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "We-EUGH-ll, _you_ were the one who refused to hand me the goddamn wre-EUGH-nch, Morty. And-" Rick continued, ignoring Morty's protests, "you were also the one who insisted that I use nitrogen triiodide just to make your stupid rocket launcher go higher, Morty. I mean, that-that was beneath me. I don't know why you wanted to play with that dumb thing, anyways. I mean, we go into space almost every day, tra-EUGH-velling across the galaxy. A one-hundred foot launch above your head with a Styrofoam piece of crap made in-in-in Chinese sweat shops shouldn't impress you."

Morty looked at Rick, disbelief in his eyes. "Rick! You're the one that wanted to do that, not me!"

Rick shrugged, taking out and unscrewing his flask. He sipped from it. "Yeah, well, whatever. Let's go." He pulled out his portal gun, entered in some coordinates, and shot out a green portal beside him. He stepped in it, Morty right behind him.

!

They emerged on the other side, a beautiful and mysterious place materializing as the new environment. The sky was a light purple, grass was everywhere, and a large, multi-colored forest stretched in front of them a good few miles away. Morty looked around, eyes wide, as the portal closed behind them. "Wow, Rick. What is this place?"

Rick took a swig from his flask, rolling his eyes at his grandson. God, Morty was so naïve sometimes. It really irritated Rick how unobservant Morty could be. "Uh, Morty, remember five minutes ago, when I said we needed to go to the Plobino planet?"

"Oh, r-right."

"Yep. Well, here we a-EUGH-re." Rick pulled a scanner out of an inside lab coat pocket. He inserted a few codes; the square invention started beeping incessantly. "Oh, shit- the Tipythion crystal is only a mile or so away! Hell yeah!"

Taking confident strides, Rick followed his little beeping invention, Morty in tow.

After about twenty minutes of walking and Morty's unremitting _oohs_ and _aahs_ at the many different plants they encountered, they finally came upon a small field of bluish-purple crystals. They sparkled in the sunlight, emitting a quiet humming.

"The-EUGH-re they are!" Rick pulled out a pair of yellow dishwashing gloves, snapping them over his hands. "These babies-these crystals are going to help me so much in my research!" Rick kneeled down, yanking one of the crystals out of the ground. It emitted a slight shriek before being stuffed into Rick's coat pocket.

"Rick, I thought- I thought these were to help us clean the house, or something?" Morty said, a slight panic rising in his voice.

"Yeah yeah, that too." Rick stood back up, bringing his flask up to his lips before removing his gloves, stuffing them back into his pockets.

"Whew, Rick, I'm really glad that this-this task didn't take long, y'know? I mean, this was a really straight-forward and simple adventure we had," Morty said, smiling at his grandfather.

"Yeah, y'know Morty, sometimes we just gotta appre-EUGH-ciate the easy things in life. Kind of like-what song was that? Uh, _Sunny Afternoon_ , or something. Yeah." Rick was just about to pull his portal gun out of his pocket when something behind Morty's head caught his attention.

"Oh, shit dawg!" Rick stuffed the portal gun back in his coat pocket before pointing at a large, overgrown forest.

"Oh, jeez, Rick- I think we should just go home, y'know-"

"Shut up, Morty. You know what's in those trees? You know what's in those trees, Morty?" Rick repeated after Morty shook his head. "The greatest booze in the entire galaxy. That's right- these trees produce _alcohol_ , Morty! The best ever! C'mon, Morty! I need some of that booze!" Rick grabbed Morty's arm, dragging him along as Morty let out an exasperated sigh.

"Rick, I wanna go home before my parents get back-"

"Morty, shuttup!"

Rick strolled into the forest, walking about fifteen minutes into the darkness without stopping. Morty looked around. Only a little sunlight filtered through the leaves; the trees looked just like the trees back home on Earth, except the trunks were purple and the roots looked more like testicles.

Rick approached one tree, giving it a good knock with his knuckles. "Ah, he-EUgh-re's a good one." He pulled out an extracting tube, sticking the pointy end into the trunk. Liquid smelling strongly of alcohol shot out of the other side before Rick cupped it with a bottle, collecting the liquid.

"This is what I'm ta-EUGH-lkin' about, Morty!" Rick grinned, topping the bottle off. He yanked the extracting tube out of the trunk, leaving a small hole and a few drops of liquid beside it.

"Yeah, whatever, Rick. Let's just go home." Morty sighed. He wanted to go back home before his parents got back so that they wouldn't realize that they had blown up the house.

Suddenly, there was a quiet rustling behind them. The quiet hum of machinery working and grinding murmured through the trees. Rick and Morty turned around.

About three hundred feet away, there was a robotic-like creature- or was it a person? - standing in the forest. The head had angry, glowing red eyes, the body a metallic silver.

"Rick, w-w-w-what's that?" Morty half-whispered. The robot-like creature stared at them. It reminded Morty of that game- what was it? - _Slenderman,_ or something. That creeped Morty out even more.

Rick recognized that technology. He had actually invented it. However, it looked like a long-forgotten… _friend_ …seemed to have managed to recreate the suit. Rick looked at Morty.

"Morty, run! Run, Morty!" The two turned on their heels and sprinted away from the robotic creature, which bolted after them the moment they ran. Rick's coat billowed around his ankles as he sprinted, Morty huffing beside him.

However, luck would not be kind to Rick. His ankle caught on a loose branch, causing him to trip and fall. His portal gun flew out of his hand, shattering on a nearby rock.

"Rick!" Morty stopped and turned around, grabbing his grandfather by the arm.

"I-I'm fine, Morty! Just _run,_ you dumbass!" Rick scooped up the broken portal gun and ran behind Morty, their pursuer slightly farther behind now. It had clearly been slowed by the numerous amounts of rocks and plants.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, there was a light at the end of the forest.

They ran for it.


	2. Part 2

**A/N:** **Here's part 2 everybody! Sorry I suck at coming up with story titles. Enjoy!**

 **Part 2**

Rick and Morty stumbled out of the forest, only to find a cliff in front of them, overlooking a huge grass valley. The wind was stronger up here. They stopped near the edge, Morty doubled over as he tried to catch his breath.

"Rick, what…the hell…was that?!" Morty gasped, holding his side.

"I…" Rick paused. He did know what it was. Or, really, who it was. However, he didn't feel Morty should know this information, so he tucked it away in his mind. "I-i-i-it was just some robotic thing that was trying to kill us, Morty." He looked around, trying to find a better way out of this situation. They were trapped; with their pursuer lurking in the forest, a giant cliff on their other side, and the portal gun broken, Rick felt confined. He knew he could fix his portal gun easily, but he just didn't have the time; he needed to shake the pursuer off their back first _-_

Something rustled in the trees. Darkness leaked from between the trunks. Rick narrowed his eyes, peering into the blackness from which they had just come from. An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach; he pushed it away.

"Morty, follow me." Rick said, pulling out his laser gun. Morty didn't move from the cliff. Rick turned around, glaring at his grandson. "Morty!"

Morty stared at Rick, fear plastered on his face. He refused to move. He did _not_ want to go back into that forest.

Rick rolled his eyes. "Whatever." The wind blew around the two, sending Rick's lab coat rippling around his ankles. He walked forward a few hundred feet, then stopped. Something wasn't right.

WHAM!

Pain exploded in Rick's face, sending him down to the ground, his laser gun knocked out of his hand.

"God-dammit, you son-of-a-bitch!" Rick yelled, grabbing his head. A pounding sensation began to hammer at his temple. He opened one eye, only to see Morty standing over him, holding the laser gun.

But no- it wasn't Morty- at least, it wasn't _his_ Morty. Not his current one, anyway.

This Morty was his first and original Morty. The only intelligent Morty that Rick ever knew. He was wearing the same armored suit they had seen in the forest; this time, however, Morty had the helmet off.

"Morty, you little shit-"

"Shut up, Rick." Morty cocked the laser gun, adjusting the aim so that it was at Rick's head. "If you move, you die."

Rick spat. "Fuck you." Deep in his gut, however, he knew his original Morty would pull the trigger. What he had done to Morty, all those years ago- he knew Morty wanted to murder him.

Rick didn't give a shit, though. However, he did give a shit about getting his current Morty back home. He knew that his original Morty would kill his current one as soon as he killed Rick.

Rick glanced behind him, seeing Morty- his current one- standing where he left him, near the edge of the cliff.

Morty was afraid. He saw the other version of him knock down his grandfather and take his laser gun. "Oh, jeez, Rick." Morty whispered, terrified. He had not once ever seen Rick be overpowered by anyone- much less a Morty. The wind whipped around him, sending ripples through his hair and shirt. A part of Morty was reminded of the cliff hanging behind him; that part of him screamed inside, telling him to move _away_ from the cliff, to move _away_ from the 300 foot drop to the grassy clearing below.

But he was too scared to move. He didn't know how to help his grandfather without getting either of them killed.

Rick looked back to his original Morty. "Do you really think I give a shit? Look, kid-" Rick slowly creeped his free hand into the inside of his coat, his fingers wrapping around the cool metal of his other laser pistol. He just needed to keep the kid distracted for a moment. "This isn't going to play out how you think it is. Why don't you just take your pansy ass back to wherever you came from and leave me and my Morty the fuck alone?" Rick cocked his pistol quietly.

His original Morty barked out a laugh. " _Your_ Morty?!" He turned his gaze to Rick's current Morty and snorted. "He's pathetic. _I_ was your Morty. Until you left me on that godforsaken planet, of course. You remember, right? You know, the one with those giant, horrific beasts?"

"Oh, yeah, I remember. I remember _very_ clearly. You were being a little bitch, whining about wanting to 'go home', but you knew that we couldn't."

"I was ten!" Morty shrilled. "It was because of you that everyone was killed- it was your fault that the Federation was on your ass again! And it was your fault that you had left me on that fucking planet!"

"God dammit Morty! I thought you were as good as dead! I didn't know you would have survived after that Teriyon beast attacked you!"

"No, you were just-just a fucking coward. But guess what, Rick? I survived. And I will continue to survive, long after all the Ricks are dead." Morty shifted his gaze towards Rick's current Morty. He raised the gun in the other Morty's direction.

 _NOW!_

Rick yanked his pistol out of his pocket and pulled the trigger. The laser shot through the original Morty's head, sending him flying back on the ground. His body lay still.

But not before the original Morty had fired.

Time seemed to slow down; everything was silent, as if the air had been stuffed with cotton. Rick spun his head around, seeing his current Morty staggering on the edge of the cliff, hands on his stomach. Morty looked down at his abdomen, then back up at Rick, fear in his eyes. Blood began to ooze through his interlaced fingers.

Morty fell backwards.

"Morty!" Rick bellowed. He scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as he could to the edge of the cliff, arm outstretched. He threw himself onto the ground, arm hanging over the side.

He was too late.

Morty was falling, falling, falling…

His body hit the ground with a quiet thud, sending ripples in the sea of grass so far below.

Rick looked down in shock.

He couldn't feel anything. His entire body felt like it was put on mute; he could barely breathe.

Morty was dead.

Rick stared at his grandson's body for a long time; whether it was five minutes or five years, he couldn't tell. Finally, he found enough energy within him to roll over onto his back. He lay there for a few minutes, staring up at the purple sky. He didn't want to think about it.

He knew he had to go down there and retrieve the body.

Rick slowly stood up, the blood rushing back to his feet. He closed his eyes and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He felt like it wasn't real when he couldn't see the body.

The scientist scoured for a few minutes for some kind of trail down the cliff. Rick managed to find one, albeit a steep path. He slowly made his way to the bottom, landing on his feet in the sea of grass.

Morty looked worse up close. Rick walked a few paces until he was standing over his fourteen year old grandson's dead body. He turned back around; for once in Rick's life, he was unable to face the facts.

Rick had done it this time. Oh, he knew he had _really_ done it.

A feeling like no other emerged in his chest; a huge bubble of anger rose up inside him, expanding so that it consumed his whole body, consumed every cell and every atom in his being.

He let out a strangled yell.

This was his fault, _his_ fault-

Morty's death was Rick's fault.

They had been stuck on this godforsaken planet because of him, and now, his grandson has been killed because of him too.

With the portal gun shattered and the spaceship back at home, Rick knew he had no way of returning, with or without Morty.

Rick screamed.

He let out an angry yell which seemed to tear through the universe, through the galaxy, through the atmosphere, through the clearing, and through his heart.

If only he had been quick enough; why hadn't he been _quick_ enough?!

He turned on his heel to face his grandson's bloodied body, lying in the grassy clearing. Morty's body was bent in such a way that no human's should be, with arms sprawled, legs bent. A huge hole was centered in his abdomen, blood still oozing, though Morty's heart had long stopped beating. His eyes were glassy, staring past Rick.

"Fuck you, Morty!" Rick shouted. "Fuck you for not listening to me! You dumbass, you little shit- you were supposed to stay next to _me!_ " Rick yelled, hitting his chest with his fist. Weakness overcame him, and he suddenly found himself sitting on the ground beside his grandson, his head in his hands. A feeling like no other overwhelmed him; the bubble that was threatening to explode inside him kept thumping at his lungs, making his eyes feel strained and glossy.

"B-b-but instead-" Rick stuttered out, his eyes squeezed shut, "you didn't. A-a-a-and now you're dead. God _dammit!_ " Rick roared again.

For once in his life, Rick wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't gather his wits about him; everything felt scattered, like someone had taken his thoughts and ground them up into fine sand, only to toss them onto the ground, and ask him to find this _one particular granule._

 _C'mon, you piece of shit._ Rick thought to himself. _Get your shit together. Just don't think about it._ Rick closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, inhaling deeply. He forced himself to push away the sorrow he felt.

He knew what he needed to do.

!

As he was a super-genius and knew his portal gun like the back of his own hand, it didn't take Rick long to fix it. What was taking him awhile, however, was facing the task ahead.

Rick knew he could get another Morty from the Citadel- after all, he still had that coupon- but he was the Rickest Rick, and this Morty was the Mortyest Morty- what was he, without his grandson? He had been just Rick for almost his entire life, but after connecting with his grandson, he had gone too long having Morty with him to revert back to being alone.

Rick put up a mental steel wall as he walked back over to Morty's body. He forced himself to dissociate; _it doesn't matter. This is just what the universe is like. Shit happens._ Rick started up his portal gun and shot a portal into the air beside him. He scooped up his grandson in both arms- _don't think about it, don't think about it-_ and stumbled through the portal.

 **A/N:** **Aaaaaaaaaand that's a wrap! What a great ending, right guys?! Haha…yeah. That's the end. Imagine what you will what Rick did after that. Yup. If you liked it, leave a review or whatever! And if you didn't- well, sorry. Keep going about your day, then. As I've said before, reviews make me very happy and keep me motivated to keep writing!**


End file.
